August 16, 2021. The original Dolphin's stem is a long piece of steam-bent white oak that would have been typical in many wooden lifeboats and other small vessels in the early 20th century. Several Sausalito boatshops were building lifeboats at the time. This approach is a faster than building a strongly curved stem out of several pieces of w
more>>
Loon is a 20ft long one-ton design, a luxurious traditional wooden day-sailor intended for speed. She will be rigged as a modern marconi sloop and fitted with a retractable bulb keel. Loon was designed by Robert Darr in the Arques School's Boat Design Class.
more>>
Freda is the oldest sailboat on the West Coast. She was built in 1885 in Belvedere for local racing and yachting. Freda is owned by the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito. She was completely restored by the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding.
A Few Words About the Importance of Freda
Bob Darr, February, 2016
The French w
more>>
August 2000
Stem for the Tug Boat... made from Pepperwood
The "Don Arques" tug boat is the first motor-powered boat built at the Arques School. This vessel was designed around a large three-cylinder Hicks engine, one of Don Arques's favorite possessions.
The tug boat was designed by Bob Darr with the Traditional Boat Design Class. Local tu
more>>
Black Cat was designed by Robert Darr in the Arques School's Design Program for use in sheltered waters. It is a fifteen foot long open catboat built with lapstrake planking, copper fastened. The boat was designed to be fast, maneuverable, and beautiful.
This is the first Black Cat. The raked, curved transom is made of local pepperwood, white oa
more>>
Eleanor is a 21 foot long keel sloop designed by Robert Darr in the school's Traditional Boat Design Class. She is a stout double-ender suitable for day sailing around San Francisco Bay, or for ocean sailing. Eleanor is 3' deep with 6'8" of beam. She'll be rigged as a marconi sloop. Her contruction is plank on sawn and bent frames. The sawn frames,
more>>
